Guest opinion: Understand the facts before forming opinions about Lakeside water and sewer

This letter is directed especially to the customers of the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District.

As many of you may remember, I was first appointed to the board of directors in late 1990 and served until 1994, when the board asked me to serve as general manager of the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District. The plan was for this to be a short-term assignment to help the district through some growing pains before a permanent manager was hired, allowing me to return to retirement from AT&T (formerly Bell Telephone) after 25 years of service. 

What none of us anticipated was that I would remain in that position for the next 16 years, until my retirement in 2010. 

During that time, I watched the district grow from serving just a few hundred customers to approximately 1,300 customers. The district annexed the West Shore District, including  many properties throughout Lakeside, Eagles Crest (now the Lakeside Club), expanded its wastewater treatment facility to serve the community of Somers and added the South Eighty subdivision, part of Best View Estates, and many individual properties between U.S. 93 and Flathead Lake. Throughout those years the district faced constant challenges involving growth, capacity and the need to continually expand its wastewater treatment facilities. 

One accomplishment I am particularly proud of is that we financed improvements to the sewer district’s transmission system with in-house funds. We never asked existing customers to pay for infrastructure needed to support new growth. One of my guiding principles was always that growth should pay for growth rather than placing that financial burden on customers who had already invested in the district’s facilities. 

At the same time, every utility requires ongoing maintenance and periodic replacement of aging infrastructure. Just as homeowners must replace roofs, windows or furnaces over time, wastewater systems also require continued investment to protect the original infrastructure and ensure reliable long-term service. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency understood the need for a wastewater system serving the Lakeside-Somers area. The collection and conveyance systems were funded at approximately 75%, while the wastewater treatment facility received approximately 95% federal funding, providing substantial savings for local ratepayers. The conveyance and collection systems were intentionally oversized to accommodate future growth, particularly because of the large number of unsewered homes around Flathead Lake. However, the wastewater treatment plant itself was designed for a 20-year population forecast based on projections made in the late 1970s and early 1980s — forecasts that have since been significantly exceeded. 

After retiring in 2010 as general manager, I stepped away for several years until 2015, when the board president asked if I would consider returning to fill a vacant board position. After discussing it with my family and the current general manager, I agreed to return and continue helping guide the district through its next phase of growth. 

When Flathead County approached the district about incorporating countywide septage receiving and treatment into our expansion plans, I supported the idea because I believed it would benefit the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District, its customers, Flathead County and ultimately the protection of Flathead Lake. 

Unfortunately, shortly after those expansion agreements were put in place, my health declined and I reluctantly resigned from the board in 2025. My goal had always been to see this expansion completed successfully. 

Today, I continue to read and listen to both supporters and opponents of the district and its various projects. It saddens me to see how much misinformation is circulating and how unfairly the district has been criticized. While I understand that people have concerns, I firmly believe the district has taken the right approach. The board’s responsibilities are to protect Flathead Lake, maintain reasonable user rates and ensure that sufficient treatment capacity is available before existing capacity is exceeded. 

Throughout my years of service, I always viewed the district as a public utility whose responsibility is to provide service to anyone who wishes to connect while ensuring that new development pays its fair share of the infrastructure required to support that growth. I remain convinced that the current board and management are following that same philosophy by treating customers fairly while requiring developers to contribute through established hookup fees and other growth-related charges. 

I also recognize that the district recently increased user rates, and it is understandable that customers have questions about those increases. However, given rising utility costs, increased labor expenses, inflation and the ongoing cost of maintaining and replacing aging infrastructure, I believe those adjustments were both necessary and justified. Anyone following wastewater treatment projects across Montana and the U.S. understands that these cost increases are not unique to Lakeside — they are part of a nationwide challenge. 

The Lakeside County Water and Sewer District has always been committed to protecting public health, meeting regulatory requirements, and planning responsibly for the future. Having spent more than two decades serving the district — both as a board member and as general manager, I have complete confidence that the current leadership is acting in the best interests of the district and its customers. 

I hope the community will take the time to understand the facts before forming opinions. Constructive discussion is healthy, but it should be based on accurate information rather than assumptions or speculation. I remain proud of what we accomplished over the years, and I am confident the district is continuing on the right path. 

Jim Heim is former general manager and board member of Lakeside County Water and Sewer District.